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THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 



THE 
GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

A PLAY IN THREE SCENES 



BY 
JOHN LLOYD BALDERSTON 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION 
BY 

GEORGE MOORE 



NICHOLAS L. BROWN 

NEW YORK ----- MCMXIX 






Copyright, 1919, by 
Nicholas L. Brown 



jAN 1 2 1920 



C)ni.o 5;{«08 



To a Lady I think has forgotten 
A request y and a promise ^ — 
This play y in fulfilment. 



INTRODUCTION 

BY 

George Moore 



INTRODUCTION 

We have lost so many things during the last four 
years, that for an idea of number we turn to the 
stars ; the endless mystery above us seems greater 
than the mystery over yonder, but both exceed the 
compass of our minds. In our armchairs we sit and 
dream of the burning of the great library at Lou- 
vain, of the Cathedrals and the mediaeval cities, com- 
pendiums and abridgments of the genius of the 
centuries that gave birth to the one we live in, to- 
day lonely ruins in a ragged war-worn land, so torn 
with shells, exploded and unexploded, that it will 
remain a desert for a hundred years at least, if not 
for all time, so we are told. Cambrai, Ypres and 
Rheims have gone forever, leaving behind them 
only a little dust: 

Ce que le papillon de Vame 
Laisse de poussiere apres lu% 
Et ce qui reste de la flame 
Sur le tr Spied quand il a lui. 

Our thoughts linger for a moment among the mul- 
titudinous graves on those hillsides, and are then be- 

[ix] 



INTRODUCTION 

gulled by names that the fortunes of war made known 
to us quickly and blotted from our minds almost as 
quickly. For who thinks now, except by chance, of 
our own sturdy Marshal of Mons? Names once in 
every mouth return to us, but we remember them so 
faintly that as in the ballade we ask — who held the 
seas in his cabin on board the Iron Duke for more 
than two years ; who was Petain, Cadorna, Castelnau, 
and of all who was the one-armed legendary hero of 
those early days in Alsace? and who — we must not 
blame ourselves that the magical victories of Foch 
have put JofFre's name out of our minds ; put his name 
out of our minds for the moment, but when we begin 
to take into account the early months of the struggle 
it will be discovered whether the attack in the lost 
provinces was ill-judged and mismanaged, whether 
JofFre was right or whether he was wrong in order- 
ing his armies across the Meuse and into the Belgian 
Ardennes in the hope of breaking the German on- 
rush, and pressing them out of Belgium before the 
leaves of the first Autumn had fallen, and of all 
whether he could have done else than to give battle 
at Charleroi. For these disasters Joffre is responsi- 
ble, no doubt, but the greatness of his decision to 
retrieve these mistakes will not be forgotten. As we 
sit in our armchairs our hearts stop beating again 
when we recall those terrible August days, our armies 



INTRODUCTION 

streaming back and back, whilst we, and those higher 
than we, clamored for a stand, for a battle, to save 
Paris, to save the world. But in spite of all ad- 
vocacy for battle and the reasons thereof, JofFre con- 
tinued resolute, his dull response to all entreaty * I 
will not fight here,' and whether, as we think in 
England, that it was because of the rout of the Fifth 
Army, commanded by Lanrezac, whose name was a 
black raven in our souls for a few days, and whom we 
never heard of more, or whether, as some French 
writers aver, it was because our own heroic five di- 
visions were taken rearwards too quickly, leaving a 
gap on the extreme left, that made the victory of 
Guise-St. Quentin of no avail, JofFre continued to 
mutter * not here, not here,' putting a strain on the 
endurance of his soldiers that none but he thought 
them able to bear, so that he might fight in the end on 
ground of his own choosing. He continued the re- 
treat mile after mile. How many? sixty? seventy? 
a hundred? it may be as many, before he reached the 
Marne, and France had begun to lose faith in her 
leader, but when the Marne was reached, JofFre said : 
* Now ! ' And it may be that the General's stafF 
at last grasped JofFre's strategy in time. It would 
seem that the General's stafF did, for JofFre's plans 
were carried out to perfection, as they would be by 
such generals as Foch and Gallieni, that Gallieni of 



INTRODUCTION 

the taxi-cabs whose name is already one of saga. 
Yes ; the General's staff must have approved in the 
end, though in the beginning they doubted, for with- 
out perfect apprehension and sympathy the battle of 
the Marne would have miscarried, without such men 
as the aforesaid JofFre could have done nothing. 
There were other minds in the battle of the Marne 
besides JofFre's, but what the future will take to 
heart is that Joffre did the right thing at the right 
time, and so well chosen was the moment that we 
know now that Moltke the Little told the Kaiser 
that the war was lost and that he had better make 
peace. The Kaiser found he could not make peace, 
and the war dragged on among horrors and cruelties 
such as the world never knew before, and will per- 
chance not know again, so it is said. Our chronicle 
stops at the Marne, at JofFre's great victory. The 
fading of his glory will be told when the war yields 
up its secrets, but whatever new fact may come to 
light none will be discovered to disturb or to tarnish 
his strategy at the Marne ; none will ever dispute that 
he won at the Marne and that, without his victory, 
France must have been taken and destroyed, Britain 
and America in their turn attacked, and a destruc- 
tion commenced of such magnitude that we cannot 
consider it : like the skies, it is too vast. 

But it is George Moore who is writing these words, 

[xii] 



INTRODUCTION 

and he hears his readers say, ' By what extraordi- 
nary pretension does this spinner of tales presume to 
lecture us upon strategy and tactics?' So let me 
make confession and say that the little I know about 
these things is due to my friend Mr. John Lloyd Bal- 
derston, who when he was in England came to my 
house evening after evening, and after we had talked 
of things nearer my heart, would spread on my table 
his maps, and as he talked, lines and markings took 
shape and meaning, and I was able to forget the hor- 
ror and agony always present in the mind of a man of 
imagination and follow the interplay of mind against 
mind, the rules of the game, the reason why such-and- 
such a general had done this and that; and when I 
was too optimistic, his maps and their markings tem- 
pered my rejoicing and, conversely, when plunged 
in despair his visits and his maps soothed my sor- 
row. 

One day Mr. Balderston mentioned to me that he 
was thinking of writing a play and with JofFre for 
its hero, and after the relation of the plot I asked 
him what he proposed to call it. ' The Spectre of 
the Marne,' he answered, 'a title that suggested a 
lady called Mrs. RadclifFe, and I begged him to seek 
another title. The one that comes to my mind while 
writing this preface is the one that I hope he will 
adopt : ' Yesterday's Glory,' for what is the 

[xiii] 



INTRODUCTION 

Marne but yesterday's glory ! Be this as it may it 
did not surprise me that in long brooding he had dis- 
covered a symbol, a synthesis, an interpretation of 
the genius that brought about the victory. The 
mystery of genius has always occupied the mind of 
man, and the play for which I have been asked to 
contribute a few lines of introduction is, at least I 
take it to be, Mr. Balderston's explanation of the 
inspired tactics of the retreat that led up to the 
Battle of the Marne. The play contains one scene 
truly original, one which remains in my mind and 
will, I think, always remain in the mind of the reader 

— the scene in which Napoleon appears at the crit- 
ical moment and dictates to the sleeping general the 
plan of the battle. JofFre seems to have had the 
plan of the Battle of the Marne in his mind all the 
while from Charleroi to the Marne, but it seemed to 
refuse to take precise shape. The sleep-walking 
scene, as it appears to me, is admirably introduced 
by an argument between the General and his staff; 
each general in turn, presses the necessity of a de- 
cision on Joffre; a decision must be taken, and at 
once. But think, reader, what this decision involved 

— whether Paris was to be destroyed and the retreat 
continued to the Loire, or whether the world's destiny 
was to be decided at the Marne. In the middle of the 
night an exhausted general is called upon to decide. 

[xiv] 



INTRODUCTION 

He pleads for three hours' rest. In three hours he 
will report his decision to them, and it is in these 
hours that the plan of the battle is made clear to 
him. ... 

I was sorry the play could not be produced; 
though I knew from the beginning that no censor 
could have passed it while contending factions argued 
about who won the battle, whether JofFre or Foch or 
Gallieni or Manoury. But the war is over now, and 
it cannot be doubted that Foch, the hero of twenty 
victories from the Marne to the frontier, would be the 
last to take umbrage at the imaginative concentra- 
tion of the limelight on Joffre at the Marne. And I 
do not think the most unintelligent among the audi- 
ence, if the play be ever acted, will fail to see that 
this play relies for its interest, not on controversy 
about facts, but on a purely spiritual issue. Is a 
man the springhead and source of his ideas, or are 
they transmitted to him? Mr. Balderston would 
seem to think that a man of genius is but the mouth- 
piece of a voice speaking from beyond. 

George Moore, 



[xv] 



CHARACTERS 

The General, 

Lieutenant, the Marquis Gaston D'Argoulles, 
his aide-de-camp. 

The Director of Operations, 

The Chief of Staff, 

Colonel Bonnel, 1 

[of the Headquarters Staff. 
Major Rameaux, J 

An Orderly, 

An Apparition. 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 



SCENE I 

The scene is a simply-furnished office in the Mairie 
of a small town in the Department of the Seine, now 
the Grand Quar tier-General de France, A lamp is 
burning on a desk, covered with maps, that stands in 
the center of the room. There is a door on each 
side of the room, and, in the rear wall, two win- 
dows. The hands of a clock, hanging on the wall 
between the windows, point to twelve. A daily pad 
calendar, fastened on the wall below the clock, reads: 
" September l^, 19 H.'' Maps are pinned about the 
walls, and fastened on a tripod that stands to the 
right of the desk is a huge map of Northern France, 
some eight feet by five. A red circle makes the forti- 
fied camp of Paris recognizable, and the coast line is 
also visible; a strip of red tape across the map indi- 
cates the battle line on September Jp. There are a 
few chairs, and, near the left hand door, a couch 
upon which D'Argoulles, a young man in the early 
twenties, his Lieutenant's uniform smartly cut, with 
no decorations, is asleep. 

The right hand door opens, an Orderly, in the 
1914^ uniform with its red trousers, enters and stands 
at attention as the Director of Operations and 

[1] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Major Rameatjx enter, then goes out and closes the 
door. The Director is a man in the fifties, wearing 
the uniform of a Major-General with the cross of a 
Commander of the Legion of Honor, and other dec- 
orations; Rameaux, an officer of the Legion, is per- 
haps forty. Both men are much agitated. 

Rameaux 
Lieutenant ! 

(D'Argoulles rises and salutes) 

Director 
Tell the General I must see him. 

D'Argoulles 
I'm sorry, sir. The General ordered me not to dis- 
turb him under any circumstances. 

Rameaux 
The Director of Operations has said that he must 
see the General. 

D'ArgouIxLes 
{Who is standing firmly before the door, left) 
The General's orders, sir. I cannot take the respon- 
sibility. 

Director 

Ask the Chief of Staff ^nd Colonel Bonnel if they 
[2] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

will come here at once. You need not come back. 
(D'Argoulles salutes and goes out, right) 

Rameaux 
(Pacing floor) Twelve o'clock! 

(Tears September Jp leaf from the calendar ^ 
revealing September 5th) 

Director 
Five weeks ! 

Rameaux 
It seems five years. 

Director 
Will you knock at the door? 

Rameaux 
(Hesitating) It is for you or the Chief of Staff 
to call him. 

Director 
(Doubtfully) He said he was not to be dis- 
turbed. . . . You are sure the wires are cleared.'^ 

Rameaux 
Yes. 

Director 

To all the army headquarters.'^ 

[3] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 
Yes, they are clear; except when the army gen- 
erals keep them busy asking instructions, describing 
their confusion, (bitterly) owing to our failure to ex- 
plain our plans. 

Director 
I know. We must represent the situation as it is. 
We must obtain the General's orders at once. 

Rameaux 
They are upside down in Paris. To evacuate and 
surrender the city or to stand a siege — to clear the 
troops out, or to bring more in — to get more food 
supplies or to destroy what they have — they keep 
begging us for orders, and we can only tell them 
they will receive their orders — later ! 

Director 
Rameaux! We must trust the General! 

Rameaux 
Of course, but this delay — this vacillation ! 

Director 

He has been unfortunate. But everything may be 
regained. 

[*] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 
(Shuddering) That's what Napoleon wired to 
Paris after Gravelotte ! 

(Orderly opens door as before and goes 
out after Chief of Staff and Colonel Bon- 
NEL enter. The Chief of Staff is in the 
uniform of a Major-General with the Com- 
mander's cross and other decorations. Bon- 
NEL, who wears minor decorations, carries a 
large map. Both are men in the fifties) 

Chief 
(In surprise) The General isn't here? 

Director 
In his study. He left word he must not be dis- 
turbed. 

Chief 
Oh! 

Director 
He has seen no one since eight o'clock. Since then 
the situation has become so serious I feel he must be 
told of it at once. 

Chief 
It is serious indeed. 

Director 
Will you join me in calling the General? 

[5] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 
{Doubtfully) In spite of his instructions? He 
is probably drawing up his orders now. He may 
come out any moment. 

BONNEL 

{Wlio has spread his map out on the desk) I 
have marked here the latest movements reported. 
{They gather round the map; Rameaux walks to the 
tripod map, advances at certavn places the tape 
showing the German line, and rejoins the group at 
the desk) You see, they are coming in here, and 
here, and here. Already several dangerous salients 
are forming in our line. 

Chief 
Our line ! Can we still call that a line.'^ 

BoNNEIi 

And here in the center the Ninth army is being 
forced back upon the Marshes of St. Gond. 

Chief 
Where Napoleon bogged Bllicher's Prussians in 
1814. A trap, that place. 

Director 
General, do you now agree that Paris must be sur- 
[6] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

rendered, and the offensive you recommended aban- 
doned? 

Chief 

By no means, Director. Paris must stand a siege, 
and our field-armies turn and strike as soon as pos- 
sible to relieve the city. 

Director 
Your former opinion. I had thought the events 
of to-night would have brought you to my side. 

BoNNEIi 

What events.'^ 

Director 
Look at the map! Instead of halting for the 
night, as usual, the Germans are pressing ahead by 
forced marches. 

Chief 
Well? 

Rameaux 

Von Kluck's First army is already almost in touch 
with the outer forts of Paris. 

Director 
The other German armies are crossing the Marne. 
The pressure on our troops increases hourly. 

[7] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 
Still I ask, why surrender Paris ? 

Director 
Because the enemy's pursuit has now made it im- 
possible to carry out your plan, even were it a good 
one. 

Rameaux 

We cannot reform now to fight behind the Seine. 
We must continue the retreat to the Loire. 

Director 

Exactly. So why subject Paris to a hopeless 
siege ? 

Rameaux 

The howitzers that destroyed Liege and Namur 
would breach the defenses in three days. 

Chief 
You are wrong. Paris must be defended. 

Rameaux 
If we go back to the Loire, as we must, how can 
the city be relieved in time? 

Chief 
We must not go back to the Loire. 
[8] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Director 
You would let them take Paris by assault, when re- 
sistance would serve no military purpose? Think of 
the destruction, the horrors in the city — 

Rameaux 
Louvain ! 

Director 
No, Paris must be declared an open town and given 
up. 

Chief 

You speak of Paris as though it were Lille or 
Brussels. This is not primarily a military problem. 
Paris must be held, because the loss of Paris would 
break the heart of France. 

BoNNEIi 

And for that reason we cannot retreat to the 
Loire. All the armies must take the offensive on the 
Seine, to save Paris. 

Chief 
It is true that the city will be isolated from our 
armies before long — 

Director 
Before morning! 

[»] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 
But the city ought to hold out a week — 

Rameaux 
Not three days! 

Chief 
And in a week, if our offensive South of the Seine 
succeeds, we can advance and drive off the besiegers. 

Director 

You are hypnotized by a word, Paris — a geo- 
graphical term for a few acres of houses. To save 
Paris, you would ruin France. The armies cannot 
fight on the Seine. They are too tired, too disorgan- 
ized. 

Chief 
They must fight somewhere! 

BoNNEIi 

Why not the Seine as well as the Loire? 

Director 
To retreat to the Loire will gain ten days more. 
Our reserve of fresh troops is now eight divisions. 
It will then be twenty divisions. The enemy will get 
few reinforcements, Russia is moving, his lines of com- 
munication lengthen as he comes on. 
[10] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 
Exactly. Our chances will be better on the Loire. 

Chief 
Sound military reasoning, yes. And fatal. 

Director 
Explain that paradox. 

Chief 
The loss of Paris, followed by ten days' further 
retreat, will break the national will. In the eyes of 
the world — in her own eyes — France will be fin- 
ished. Our armies will lack heart to fight. 

Rameaux 
If we allow our movements to be fettered by Paris, 
our armies will be destroyed. 

BONNEL 

Well, gentlemen, our views are unchanged. But 
the opinion that matters is the General's. What will 
he say.? 

Chief 
I don't know. 

Director 
He has not dropped a hint. 

[11] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 
Do you think he knows himself? 

BONNEI. 

I cannot think he will abandon Paris. 

Director 
Why then did he tell the government to move to 
Bordeaux ? 

Chief 
He foresaw the siege. 

Director 
He foresaw that he must give up the city. 

Rameaux 
He's not made up his mind. 

Chief 
Surely he must by now have done so. Every hour 
increases the confusion, makes it harder to carry out 
a new plan. 

Rameaux 
We must all make that clear to the General. 

BoNNEIi 

Surely, Rameaux, it is more clear to him than to 
any of us. 
[12] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 
I hope so. 

Director 
At such a moment, none of us wish to criticize, to 
lose faith. But we must face facts. If the Gen- 
eral, with his great gifts which we all recognize, has 
a weakness, it is our duty to try to overcome it. 

Chief 
Undoubtedly. 

BONNEIi 

You mean? 

Director 
In war as in chess, a bad plan is better than none. 

Chief 
A Fabian policy may be pushed to extremes. 

Director 
The nettle must be grasped firmly. 

Chief 
And at once. 

Rameaux 
Enough pretty phrases. You mean that further 

[13] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

indecision, hesitation, vacillation, procrastination, 
call it what you will, is fatal ! 

BoNNEIi 

(After a pause) That is unfair. I believe the 
General sees further and more clearly than any of 
us. 

Chief 
We all hope so, Bonnel. 

Rameaux 

How do you account then for his leaving the army 
commanders bewildered by conflicting orders, the 
Paris garrison not told whether to fight or get out, 
with the enemy almost at the forts? 

Bonnel 

{Hesitating) Local disasters may rightly be 
risked to gain time to Work out a better strategic 
plan. 

Director 
That thought underlies the strategy of these 
whole five weeks. 

Rameaux 

And it has given us the disasters before Metz, 
Namur, Charleroi, and now — 
[14] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 
(Sharply) Rameaux! We must not say these 
things. 

Rameaux 
But only think them, General? 

BONNEL 

(Warmly) I for one do not think them. These 
disasters were not the fault of the command or the 
army. Germany chose her time for war. She was 
ready, we were not. She is reaping the fruits of her 
preparation. The General's has been the only 
strategy possible. He has conducted the retreat in 
a masterly manner. 

(The Generai. opens the door, left, stands 
unnoticed for a moment. He wears a single 
decoration, the Grand Cross of the Legion of 
Honor) 

Rameaux 
Wars are not won by retreats ! 

Generai. 
(With smiling good-humor) Good morning, gen- 
tlemen. (They salute) A council of war, I per- 
ceive. 

[15] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Director 
General, the latest reports are very grave. 

General 
What are they? 

Director 
The Germans are advancing by night. Von 
Kluck is almost in touch with the Paris forts. 

General 
Is that all? 

Rameaux 
The Paris command is begging us for orders. 

BONNEL 

They don't know whether you intend to evacuate 
the city, or to stand a siege. 

Rameaux 
They say the uncertainty makes it impossible for 
them to do anything. They will not be responsible 
for the consequences, unless you immediately — 

General 

Nerves, Rameaux, nerves. Never mind what they 
say. 
[16] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 
The Sixth army in Paris is safe for the moment, 
but the Fifth, Fourth and British armies are hard 
pressed. 

Director 
If our heavy guns are to cover the Seine cross- 
ings, there is barely time to get them into position. 
This will take at least twenty-four hours. But no 
orders have been given. 

General 
(Coolly) Surely, gentlemen, all this is scarcely 
surprising. 

Chief 
No, but most critical. 

General 
It was evident that as the enemy neared Paris he 
would try to disrupt and disorganize us, flurry us, 
by forced marches. 

BONNEL 

(Surprised) You anticipated these develop- 
ments ? 

General. 
The campaign seems to pursue its normal course. 

[17] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 
But the Paris garrison must have orders, to evacu- 
ate or to resist. 

Director 
If you do not tell them at once, they will be un- 
able to do either. 

(The Generai. walks to the desk and stud- 
ies the map) 

Rameaux 

The wires to the army headquarters are all clear, 
waiting your orders, sir. 

Generai. 
Thank you, Rameaux. 

Chief 
General, may I speak very frankly? 

General 
Of course. 

Chief 
It seems to me — I think to all of us — that unless 
you order the armies now to reform on the Seine — 

Director 

— or go South to the Loire — 
[18] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 

— unless you order Paris held — 

Director 

— or abandoned — 

Chief 

— now, your orders will come too late. 

Rameaux 
The confusion will be too great. 

Chief 
The situation will be out of our hands. 

Director 
As Director of Operations, it is my duty to carry 
3^our orders into effect. I must warn you that in a 
few hours the liaison between our armies will be bro- 
ken, and it will be impossible to put any general plan 
into execution. 

General 
Thank you, gentlemen, thank you. (He lights a 
cigar) In a few hours, I think you said. Director? 

Chief 
General, what do you propose to do.^ 

Generai. 
I have not decided. (Rameaux makes gesture of 

[19] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

despair) I shall be glad to hear your views. Sit 
down. (They pull up chairs, the General sits at 
the desk) There are some cigarettes in the drawer 
there. (Bonnel passes them around) Now, your 
advice. What says the Chief of StafF.'^ 

Chief 
The retreat has gone so far that our Western 
armies cannot engage the enemy before Paris. But 
the moral effects of the surrender of Paris would be 
fatal, therefore — 

Director 
By that reasoning, we have lost the war already ! 

General. 
Your turn will come later. Director. 

Chief 
(With an angry look at the Director) To con- 
tinue. Since we cannot fight in front of Paris, and 
the city must be held, I advise that the garrison 
and the Sixth army be ordered to stand a siege. 
After losing touch with Paris the field-armies should 
reorganize South of the Seine and in a few days com- 
mence a general offensive. If successful, this will 
drive the enemy back and relieve the city. 
[20] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 
And you. Director? 

Director 
Such a course must result in disaster. Our one 
hope is to continue the retreat for at least ten days. 
Paris must be declared an open town and evacuated. 
The garrison and the Sixth army should retire with 
the field-armies to the Loire. 

General. 
And Verdun, the line of the Meuse? 

Director 
Must be abandoned too. On the line Belfort — 
Langres — the Loire, in about ten days, with twelve 
fresh reserve divisions, we can attack. 

General 
Bonnel ? 

BONNEL 

I agree with the Chief of Staff. The moral con- 
sequences of the loss of Paris would be such that any 
military risks to save the city are justified. 

General 
Rameaux ? 

[21] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 

Our only hope lies in the immediate inauguration 
of the movement recommended by the Director. I 
have emphasized the adjective. There is barely time 
to get the troops out of Paris. 

General. 
These are indeed divided counsels. 
(Pause) 

Chief 

I believe the Director of Operations profoundly 
wrong. But I had rather you took his advice, to- 
night, than mine, in the morning. Time is now 
everything. 

Director 
It would be better to adopt the Chief of Staff's 
plan now, bad as that is, than delay to-night and 
order the retreat to the Loire in the morning. Time 
is now all important. 

General 
( With a hearty laugh) This is the first time since 
this campaign began that you two men have agreed 
on anything! 

BoNNEIi 

But, General, which is your opinion ? 
[22] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

GENEEAIi 

(Chuckling) I'm sorry to break this unaccus- 
tomed concord, but I'm not sure that I agree with 
either. 

Chief 
With neither! But surely, Paris must be evacu- 
ated, or it must be defended! 

Director 
And if we do not stand on the Seine, the retreat 
must continue ! 

General. 
(Speaking for the first time sharply, in tones of 
command) Rameaux! You say you are in touch 
with all the armies. What about my mass of 
maneuver, my strategic reserve? 

Rameaux 
The troops detached to the rear for the offen- 
sive — fourth corps, eleventh corps, 42nd division, 
61st and 62nd reserve divisions — are concentrated 
as ordered, waiting instructions. I have a wire 
cleared to the general commanding. 

General 
(Musingly) The mass of maneuver — for the 

[23] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

offensive — " Napoleon's greatest gift to the art of 
war." Bonnel, you were there, you remember how 
old Blanchard used to roll that off his tongue in 
his lectures at St. Cyr.? Old Whitehead, we boys 
used to call him. He saw the Emperor once. He 
was ten years old. He stood with his mother in the 
Rue de Rivoli, when the Grand Army came back 
from Austerlitz. 

Rameaux 
{Muttering) Austerlitz, indeed! 

Chief 
But the orders, sir ! About Paris ! 

General 

Well, gentlemen, what would you say if I sent the 
eight divisions of the mass of maneuver into Paris to 
join the Sixth army, and then ordered Gallieni to 
fire the districts on the left bank, blow up all the 
bridges, at once, without waiting for the forts to 
fall? {They are astounded) The garrison and 
the mass of maneuver, with the Sixth army, hold the 
right bank as long as possible. Then, when the 
Germans force the Seine, our men fight through the 
cellars from house to house until all Paris is blown 
down or burned over their heads. 
[24] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 
But — but to what end? 

Generai. 
The Director is right. The forts are worthless. 
The city cannot stand a siege. 

Director 
But I suggested evacuation — not destruction ! 

Rameaux 
You would destroy Paris? 

Chief 

If I am wrong, if Paris cannot stand a siege with 
a prospect of relief, then why not abandon the city, 
as the Director says? 

BONNEL 

Paris ! Blown down ! Burned ! 

Generai. 
I seem to have shocked you all. I too love Paris. 
But perhaps she must perish to save France. 

Director 

But how can this destruction help the armies in the 
field? 

[25] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 
The German plan is to envelop both my wings. If 
either attempt succeeds, we are lost. They are try- 
ing to roll up my right, before Nancy. Castelnau is 
holding the Bavarians there, and they will fail. But 
here on my left, von Kluck and Buelow's turning 
movement — well, as you have said, that is serious. 
If I left the garrison in Paris to stand a siege they 
would be captured to no purpose. If I abandoned 
Paris intact and retreated towards the Loire, the 
garrison, the Sixth army and the British would have 
to stand and give battle in the open, they would be 
beaten, and all my line to Verdun rolled up. The 
enemy's flanking movement must be held until I can 
save my center. The city can stop it, where armies 
in the field could not. Their big guns cannot destroy 
all the houses in Paris at once, as they will the forts. 
The garrison if I reinforce them can hold out in the 
cellars and the streets perhaps a week. And if 
Paris and Verdun can stop the Germans a week, my 
center armies can be extricated, reformed, and pre- 
pared for the offensive. 

(All have risen except the General. They 
are much affected) 

Director 
These are your orders.'^ 
[26] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 

Orders? Oh no, not orders. Mere speculation. 
As I said just now, I haven't decided. Please sit 
down. {They do so) I came across an amusing 
sidelight on the Boche mind just now, in my study. 
I was reading La Vie Parisienne, That those papers 
still appear in these times is a tribute to the national 
spirit. 

Rameaux 

You were reading La Vie Parisienne just now, in 
there.? 

GENERAIi 

You are right to be shocked. I suppose in your 
spare time you read Clausewitz Vom Kriege? 

Rameaux 
{Severely) I have no spare time, sir. 

General 
You know those darts that our airmen drop on 
the enemy? The Germans, the story said, regarded 
these as a barbarous invention. (Orderly enters, 
stands at attention as D'Argoulles comes in, and 
goes out. D'Argoulles salutes) You interrupted 
a story, Gaston. What is it? 

D'Argoulles 
The Wire Chief told me to give you this instantly, 
sir. 

[27] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 
(Takes paper, glances at it, lays it on the desk. 
To D'ArgouLtI^s) Sit down and hear my story. 
(He puUs up a chair) The Germans felt deeply 
grieved at our barbarity. They debated the ques- 
tion of fitting reprisals. At length they made some 
darts — aeroplane darts, Gaston — and threw them 
on a squadron of French cavalry. One of them was 
picked up. On it was stamped : " Made in Ger- 
many. Invented in France." 

(D'Argoulues and the General alone 
laugh) 

Chief 
(Who has picked up the message) My God! 

Director 
What is it? 

Chief 
Marshal French reports that enemy cavalry 
groups are penetrating between his forces and the 
defenses of Paris ! The English are about to lose all 
contact with our troops on their left 1 

(General consternation, the General, alone 
unmoved) 

BONNEIi 

Our line is breaking! 
[28] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Director 
If the British lose connection with the Sixth army 
and Paris, and the enemy gets through the gap — 
(He breaks off) 

General 
Don't be alarmed. It is my job to do the worry- 
ing here. And how should I not worry, when I have 
to decline so much excellent advice from my col- 
leagues ? 

Chief 
General, our fate is in the balance. There is not 
a moment to lose. 

(The General blows rmgs from his cigar) 

Rameaux 
What are you going to do? 

General. 
(^Rising) I'm going to bed. 
(Astonishment) 

Chief 
You will give no orders? 

General 
Not now — I want some sleep. If the armies get 
anxious, tell them to worry along as best they can. 

[29] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Without committing themselves to any definite course 
of action. Emphasize that. 

Director 
I beg you to order the retreat to the Loire, and 
cancel the provisional plans for an offensive, which 
are blocking the transport lines. 

Rameaux 
The decision! Are you going to fight or not? 

General 
(Sharply) Most battles are lost by Generals who 
make decisions before the decisive moment has ar- 
rived. 

Chief 
This is the decisive moment. 

Rameaux 
Or past it! 

Generai. 
The Emperor said, " First engage the enemy, and 
then see." I have engaged him. I have not yet seen 
— not clearly enough. 

BONNEL 

But you will see ! 

(The General, thanks him with a look) 
[30] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Director 
But in another few hours, contact will have been 
lost between our armies. After that not Napoleon 
himself could save us. 

Geneuai* 
" Another few hours " ! " After that " ! I said 
I was going to bed. I didn't say I was going to 
sleep round the clock! Come back here (Looks at 
clock, then at map on desk) — come back here at 
three. Then — then we shall see. ( The four of- 
ficers go out reluctantly) Gaston, I shall not go 
to my room. 

D'Argoulles 
You never do. 

General 
I'll lie down here on your couch. You know what 
that means? 

D'ArgguI/Les 
No, General. 

General 
It means you will go to your quarters and to bed, 
and not get up until I send for you. 

D'Argoulles 
I must not leave you, sir. I'll wait outside in the 
passage. 

[31] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General. 
(Sever ell/) You'll go to bed, boy. You've been 
in this room four days. 

D'Argoulles 
Oh no, General. 

GENERAIi 

Children mustn't go without their sleep. 

D'Argoulles 
I've slept a lot, here, at odd times. But you. Gen- 
eral, I don't believe j^ou've slept at all since the re- 
treat began. 

General 
You don't know what I do in my study. You'd 
have roared to see Rameaux's face when I told them 
that while he and the others were fretting out here 
waiting for my orders I was reading La Vie 
Parisienne in there. 

D'ArgouXtLes 
You — reading La Vie Parisienne! 

Generai. 
Oh, I've wasted lots of time since Charleroi. I 
feel every now and then that I have to relax — for- 
get it £^U for ten or twenty minutes — 
[32] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

D'Argoulijes 
You say nothing about the other twenty-three 
hours and forty minutes ! 

Generai. 
Do you know what they're all thinking now? 
Rameaux, the old rascal, is saying it. He'd fight 
any one who talks about me as he does. 

D'Argoulm:s 
What, General? 

GENERAIi 

The army runs away, the enemy pursues, and the 
General — goes to bed ! 

D'Argouli>es 
Oh, damn them, sir! 

General 

I don't blame them. It is touch and go. But 
just now, when they wanted me to issue orders that 
could not be revoked, that would commit me beyond 
hope if I were wrong, something seemed to stop me. 
I don't know what. I felt it was not the moment. 
And the answer will come. I know that it will come. 

D'Argoulm:s 
Of course it will, sir, 

[33] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 
But this thinking-box — I suppose the ansAver must 
be turned out of that. And the wheels are running 
slowly, Gaston. I think the machine will work better 
if I stop it, rest it. 

D'Argoulles 
I v/ish you'd do that more often, sir. That box 
holds the fate of France. You must take care of it. 
(He starts to go as the General sits on the 
couch) 

General 
(Half playfully y half seriously) Gaston, what 
would you do in my place .f^ 

D'Argoulles 
What do you mean, sir.^ 

General 
You have been with me, you alone, outside the 
staff, know the true position. Would you abandon 
Paris or fight .^ 

D'Argoulles 
General, you are laughing at me! You ask me 
this, me, a lieutenant.'^ 
[34] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 
I'm quite serious. The Chief of Staff wants to 
fight to relieve Paris, the Director wants to surren- 
der the city and go on back. The rest all side with 
one or the other. Both factions are so prejudiced 
that no new facts can alter their views, which are in 
consequence entirely worthless. You alone among 
all of them here belong to neither clique. 

D'Argoulles 
I cannot — I am not worthy — I have no right to 
try to influence the supreme decision. 

General 
Your general demands your opinion. 

D'Argoulles 
(Slowly) To give battle — the battle without a 
morrow — risks the whole army. To retreat — to 
yield Paris — is equally perilous. If I believed in 
one course I would tell you so, if you insisted. 

General 
You believe in neither.? 

D'Argoulles 
I am a lieutenant — how should I have faced the 
dilemma? I have no opinion. 

[35] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 
And no hope? 

D'Argoulles 
I believe in you, sir. 

GENERAIi 

(Rising and putting hand on his shoulder) 
Thanks, boy. That helps more than advice. And 
I — I too have faith. ... I believe in France. Now 
run along to bed ! 

(D'Argoulles salutes, the General, lies 
down on the couch as D'Argouli>es blows out 
the lamp on the desk and goes out, right. 
The room is dimly lit hy the moonlight, com- 
ing through the windows) 

(the curtain is ix)wered and raised to denote 

THE LAPSE OF AN HOUR) 



[36] 



SCENE II 

The General is asleep. He sits up, slowly rises 
and gropes about the room. He humps into furni- 
ture as he feels his way, and is evidently walking in 
his sleep. His eyes are open, fixed in a rigid stare, 
hut his s tumbling and groping show that he sees 
nothing. After he has wandered ahout aimlessly for 
some time, the right hand door opens quietly and 
D'Argoulles comes in. 

D'Argoulles 
General, I was in the passage. I heard you walk- 
ing about. Shall I get a light? Do you want any- 
thing? (He pauses for an answer; the General 
walks as before) Are you angry because I did not 
go to bed? My place is beside you. (D'Argoulles 
comes closer. He starts hack in astonishment) 
Asleep ! He is asleep ! 

(Goes forward to wake him, then pauses 
irresolutely) 

General 
(Suddenly stops, left, and stands in a rigid atti- 
tude of attention, staring across the room toxvards 

[37] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

D'Argoulles, who is standing hy the desk, a 
shadowy form in the moonlight. Very sharply) 
Who's there? 

D'Argoulles 
{In a terrified voice) It's only I, sir. 

{Goes out hurriedly, right, closing the 
door quietly. There is a short pause. The 
General maintains the same pose of stravned 
attention and continues to stare towards the 
place where D'Argoulles stood hy the desk) 

GENERAIi 

{Shouts) Who's there, I say? 

Voice 
A soldier of France. 

General 
Your rank? 

Voice 
{After a momenfs pause) Corporal. 

General 
Your business here? 

Voice 
To save the Army. 
[38] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

GENERAIi 

Where have you come from? 

Voice 
Les Invalides. 

(A Form rustling the maps on the desk 
gradually becomes visible) 

General 
My papers ! Spy ! (He strides towards the desk. 
The Apparition is now seen to be that of Napoleon^ 
in the familiar cocked hat and cloak) Corporal! 
The Little Corporal! (Staggers back and collapses 
on the couch) Les Invalides ! 

Apparition 
(Mockingly) You call yourself a soldier? (The 
General, trembling, rises and salutes) That's bet- 
ter. (Acknowledging the salute) This map! Are 
the enemy dispositions given here up to date? 

General. 
Up to this evening. Sire. 

Apparition 
(Surprised) This evening! 

General 
Our aeroplanes, Sire. 

[39] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Apparition 

Yes, I forgot. If I had had just one at Quatre 
Bas! (Gruffly) Get rid of your cavalry. Obso- 
lete arm. Did my men use bows and arrows, eh? 
Come here. (General, walks slowly to the desk) 
Sit down. (General sits at the desk) Now. 
How did you get the army in this mess? 

(During this scene a ray of moonlight falls 
on the desk) 

General 
( Wearily) It's a long story. Sire. 

Apparition 
Your offensive failed. Why? 

Generai. 
(Pulls out a map from the pile on the desk; the 
Apparition hends over him) At the beginning I 
seized the mountain passes, I won through to the 
plains of the Saar. I attacked between Metz and 
Strasburg. 

Apparition 
Well? 

General 
I was beaten at Morhange. I retreated to cover 
Nancy. 
[40] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Apparition 
Why were you beaten ? 

General 
Not enough guns. 

Apparition 
(Angrily) Not enough guns ! What was my ca- 
reer but guns, always guns? Austerlitz — those 
massed guns in the center — ever hear of Auster- 
litz ? Where were your guns ? Forgot to make 'em, 
eh? 

General 
The politicians. Sire. 

Apparition 
I hope you wrung their necks ! Well, and then ? 

General 
(Pullmg out another map) During my campaign 
in Lorraine the enemy came through Belgium in 
great strength. I had to re-group to meet the Bel- 
gian attack, which upset all my plans. 

Apparition 
(Snatching the Tnap) Your initial mobilization 
plans left the Belgian frontier unguarded. Why? 

[41] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Generai. 
Germany had guaranteed the neutrality of Bel- 
gium. We did not think — 

Apparition 
(Thromng down the map in disgust) You 
trusted the word of a Prussian? Fooll 

General 
Still I did not renounce the offensive. 

Apparition 
{Somewhat mollified) Good! 

General 
As soon as I had regrouped I crossed the Meuse, 
and attacked in the Belgian Ardennes. There too 
I failed. 

Apparition 
Why? 

General. 
I depended on Namur to hold. It fell in two days. 
The enemy forced the Meuse. My line was broken. 
My left was outflanked. I had to go back. 

Apparition 
Like that damned ass my nephew, you forgot one 
of my first principles. Never trust in a fortress ! 
[42] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 
Since then the retreat has continued. I planned 
to fight on the Somme, on the Aisne. But the Ger- 
man right wing threatened to turn the British. I 
had to go on back. 

Apparition 
{Picking up map, in tone of an/no yance) Eng- 
lish, eh? Fighting in France, for us.'^ 

General 
And fighting well. Sire. They have held the open 
flank. 

Apparition 
{In same tone) Relentless foes . . . 

General 

{Interrupting) — make the staunchest Allies, 
Sire. 

Apparition 
How are their troops supplied? 

General 
The Straits of Dover, Sire. 

Apparition 

Had I held those an hour! . . . The seas are 
theirs, then, still .f^ 

[43] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Generai- 
The seas of all the world. 

Apparition 
That rascal Villeneuve ! I almost had them, once ! 
. . . England and France, Allies ! . . . It's hard to 
swallow, that! 

General 
But Prussia, Sire ! 

Apparition 
Yes, Prussia! Pigs, I always called them pigs. 
Is it so long since Jena, then, that they think to suc- 
ceed where I failed.'^ 

General. 
They are strong. Sire, very strong! 

Apparition 
But England's against them, now. They cannot 
beat the sea! ... A century is long to hold a 
grudge. We live and learn. Sometimes we die and 
learn. Viv^ VAngleterre! 

General. 
Their army, Sire, is small. 

Apparition 
The sea is slow but sure. They'll come, in time. . . . 
[44] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Perhaps those others, too, beyond the seas. . . . 
Leave them the future. The present is our task. 

General 
(Joyfully) Ours, Sire? You'll help me now? 

Apparition 
I felt that things were wrong. I could not rest in 
that great granite tomb. So I came here — and 
where else should I come.^^ 

General 
To save the army, you said. 

Apparition 
Tell me your plans. I'll help you, if I can. 

General 
(Pointing on map as Apparition sits beside him) 
My left is being forced back on Paris. 

Apparition 
Still retreating, eh.'^ 

General 
I have not stopped the retreat, but the decision 
must be made to-night. I must fight in Paris, fight 
on the Seine to relieve Paris, or go back to the Loire. 

[45] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Apparition 
And abandon the city? Nonsense. If Paris was 
worth a mass, it is worth a battle. 

General 
Their big guns will smash the forts, but the garri- 
son fighting through the houses may delay the en- 
emy, save my right from envelopment. 

Apparition 
Fighting through the houses ! Would you destroy 
Paris, you vandal? You're not a German! 

General. 
To save the city is impossible. 

Apparition 
(Sharply) That word is not French! 

General 
I thought to gain time to save my center armies 
by adding to the Paris garrison my mass of 
maneuver. 

Apparition 
You have a mass of maneuver? Then I have 
taught you something! 

General 
Eight fresh divisions. Sire. 
[46] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Apparition 
(Coldly) Who invented the mass of maneuver? 

General 
You, Sire. 

Apparition 
What did I use it for? 

General 
To throw in at the critical moment — 

Apparition 
When the battle was ripe — 

General 
For the offensive. To break the enemy's line. 

Apparition 
(Angrily) Exactly. You know that. And you 
— you have your fresh troops. And you propose 
with the rest of your armies to retreat, while you 
throw your reserves into Paris to fight on the de- 
fensive — the defensive — let them cut off your field 
army from your mass of maneuver, and destroy the 
city into the bargain. You fight like an Austrian I 

General 
I have done nothing yet. Sire. The position is not 
compromised. 

[47] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Apparition 
You have not committed yourself? 

GENERAIi 

No. 

Apparition 

Show me your dispositions. (General, points to 
map, the Apparition studies it for a few moments) 
And in this desperate situation, you have issued no 
orders, you have decided on no measures, you have 
not even moved your reserves ? 

GENERAIi 

No. My staff has been pressing me to decide — 

Apparition 
Of course it has. How well I know those staffs ! 
Chattering like magpies, eh? 

General 
But I have felt the moment had not come. 

Apparition 
(With emphatic approval) You have known how 
to wait. 

General 

It has been hard. 
[48] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Apparition 
The hardest thing in war. 

General 
I delayed. I didn't know why. I must have been 
waiting for j^ou. 

Apparition 
Had you not waited, I could not have saved you. 
You have mastered without me the lesson I could 
never teach my marshals. (Studies the map) The 
old arrogance I Men of one idea, these Prussians. 
Envelopment! Know nothing else of war. Well, 
well, we'll humor them. 

Generai. 
Show me, Sire, show me ! 

Apparition 
The moment is at hand to strike ! 

GENERAIi 

{Joyfully) The offensive.^ 

Apparition 
They're fooling you with this march on Paris. 
Do you understand? They're fooling you! 

Generai. 
How so. Sire? 

[49] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Apparition 
These two armies on their right, marked von 
Kluck and Buelow — they can't go on like this. Not 
unless you retreat and let them do it. They're fool- 
ing you, I say ! Don't let yourself be tricked. 

General 
I don't understand. 

Apparition 

Take the present line of march of the two armies. 
Suppose they continue for twelve hours more in the 
same directions, on these roads here, you see? 

Where do you find them then? 

General 
(Picks up scales and works on the map) They 
will drift apart! There will be a gap of thirty 
miles ! 

Apparition 
Well? 

General 
They can't do that. They must close the gap at 
once. 

Apparition 

How? 
[50] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

GENERAIi 

Either halt all their armies to rectify their line . . . 

Apparition 
Halt? You don't know your Prussians! They'll 
never stop — they think they've got you, they'll press 
the pursuit. 

General 
Then, if Buelow and the others keep on advancing, 
von Kluck must turn to the left and march to the 
Southeast to maintain contact with Buelow — (Leap- 
ing up) — I see, I see. Sire ! — he marches across my 
front ! He presents me his flank ! 

Apparition 
(Scornfully) And meanwhile your armies retreat, 
your garrison and mass of maneuver crouch in the 
cellars of Paris — 

GENERAIi 

No, I attack ! I attack ! He off*ers me his flank, 
I strike him in the flank ! I crush his army, I roll up 
the German right ! 

Apparition 
(Chuckling) Not so fast, my son. You attack, 
yes. But they'll swing reserves over to help von 

[51] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Kluck. He's very strong. You might not roll him 
up. 

General 
(Crestfallen) Surely I try it? 

Apparition 
Yes, but that isn't all. We must make sure of 
this. (Bends over map — chuckles) Why, it's as 
simple as Marengo. 

Generai^ 

Tell me. Sire, tell me ! 

Apparition 
Eighteen fourteen — the marshes of St. Gond — is 
that little bit of work still remembered? 

Generai. 
Your masterpiece. Sire. 

Apparition 

Gave old Bliicher a hiding, eh? Prussians they 
were then, too. Good omen, that. Now listen. 
Our strategic reserve we divide in half, so. (Point- 
ing) One half comes to the Paris army. The other 
half concentrates in the center, so, behind your Ninth 
army. All armies stop the retreat at once and pre- 
pare to attack in twenty-four hours. 
[52] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 
They cannot get ready in a day. 

Apparition 

They must ! During to-day the Sixth army moves 
out from Paris. At daybreak to-morrow it attacks 
the flank von Kluck will have exposed, so ! His po- 
sition of course is compromised, he must stop, form 
front to flank, call for reserves to save himself, so ! 
Over here in the center you retreat, during the first 
two days of the battle. The enemy will pursue. On 
the third day, whether you are winning or losing 
against von Kluck — (The Apparition has risen) 
do you see.'^ 

General 

(Breathlessly) Go on! 

Apparition 
Why, then, my son, the battle is ripe ! You throw 
in the second half of the mass of maneuver, for the 
decision ! 

General, 
But where? 

Apparition 
Why, in the same old place! 

General 
The Marshes of St. Gond! 

[53] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Apparition 
They'll remember Bliicher, when it is too late. 

General 
Eighteen fourteen again ! 

Apparition 
His line will be weak there, stretched forward 
where he has pursued your center, the bogs in his 
rear, his reserves moved sixty miles to the west to 
help von Kluck. 

General 
I break his line in the center! I throw him into 
the marshes ! He must retreat everywhere at once, 
whatever happens on the wings. The battle is won ! 
(The Apparition begins to move away. The Gen- 
eral rises) I see it ! but your brain is lightning. 
Sire ! Tell me again — more fully — more details. 
— I may have missed some point. 

( Walks after the phantom) 

Apparition 
(Halting, motions the General towards the 
study-door) We'll have time and enough to fight 
this over. Comrade, when you come to stay with me. 

General 
To stay with you. Sire? Where? 
[54] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Apparition 
Les Invalides. 

(The Apparition passes through the door- 
way on the left, followed hy the General. 
The door closes) 

{There is a soft knock, followed by a 
louder one, on the other door. The door is 
opened. D'Argoulles retreats into the 
room, protestingly, before Rameaux and the 
Director of Operations. They halt by the 
doorway, A little light shines through from 
the hall upon them, but the room remains in 
shadow, and the intruders, who cannot see 
that the couch is empty, speak throughout 
this scene in whispers) 

D'Argouli^es 
Gentlemen, I protest against this intrusion. 

Rameaux 
When members of the staff desire to see the Gen- 
eral, they are not to be ordered away by subalterns. 

D'Argoulles 
The General's orders were to be called at three 
o'clock. It is not yet two. I beg you to withdraw. 
He needs rest. You do not know how badly. 

[55] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Director 
This is no time for any one to rest. 

{The Chief of Staff and Colonel Bon- 
NEL. enter) 

Chief 
What's the matter? 

Rameaux 

M. le Marquis d'ArgouUes has had the misfortune 
to forget that since the first of August he has been 
Lieutenant d'ArgouUes. 

D'Argoulles 
Lieutenant d'ArgouUes, personal aide-de-camp to 
the GeneraUssimo. 

BONNEL 

You propose to wake the General? 

D'Argoulles 
Against his explicit orders not to be disturbed. 

Rameaux 
Insolent puppy! 

D'Argoulles 
(Standing at attention) After the war, Major, 
my friends shall have the honor to wait upon you. 
[56] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 
(Furiously) You hear? A challenge! 

Chief 
How can any Frenchman quarrel, to-night? 

Director 
And here, here of all places ! 

D'Argoulles 
You are right. Sirs. Major, I beg your pardon. 
(Rameaux grunts) 

Chief 
(To Director) What will you say to him? 

Director 
A new situation has arisen on the Meuse. The 
Germans are massing to attack Fort Troyon, cross 
the river, and take Verdun and SarraiPs army in the 
rear. 

Chief 
Surely this is not so serious as the position before 
aris. 

Director 
No, but it is new, it gives us a pretext to wake him. 
ie must decide on a general plan. Every minute 

[57] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

that he sleeps here may be the last possible minute 
when his orders can save us. 

Chief 
Yes, I have been sitting in my room, every tick of 
the clock sounding in my ears like the death-knell of 
the army. 

Rameaux 
You are all afraid! I will do it! (Lights match, 
goes to the couch, says aloud) He isn't here ! 

(They all advance in surprise, and now 
speak aloud) 

Chief 
Not here! (To D'Argoulles) He hasn't gone 
out? 

D'Argouli^es 
No. I have been in the passage. 

(They look at the study-door) 

BONNEL 

He is in there, working. 

Director 
He said he was going to bed ! 

Chief 

He is drawing up his orders at last. 
[58] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 
Reading La Vie Parisienne, more likely. 

Director 

Why did he tell us he wanted to sleep? 

(Rameaux goes towards study door^ 
D'Argoulles makes appealing gesture to the 
others) 

BONNEL 

Rameaux, one moment! Gentlemen, our nerves, 
yours and mine, are almost gone, 

Rameaux 
And well they may be. 

BONNEIi 

One man only at headquarters is cool — the Gen- 
eral. One man is quiet and confident — the General. 
He said he was going to bed because he wanted to get 
rid of us, to prepare his plan. He told us to come 
back at three o'clock. 

Director 
But there is no time to lose. 

Chief 
Bonnel is right. The responsibility for delay is 
not ours. We must wait another hour. 

[59] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

(Goes out, followed by Bonnel. D'Ar- 
GOULLES stands hy the door at attention as 
Rameaux and the Director reluctantly de- 
part^ then goes out, closing the door behind 
him. After a pause the study-door opens. 
The General, still asleep, his eyes open but 
-fixed, gropes his way to the desk, picks up 
pen and scales and works for some time over 
the map. Then he rises, walks to the great 
tripod map and by gesture indicates the plan 
of the Battle of the Marne — the flanking 
attack from Paris against von Kluck, fol- 
lowed by the blow against the German center. 
He stumbles to the couch and lies down) 

(the curtain is lowered to indicate that an 

HOUR passes). 



[60] 



SCENE III 

{The curtain rises on the same scene. The Gen- 
eral is sleeping quietly. The stage is dark, there is 
no more moon, D'Argoulles enters and lights the 
lump on the desk — it is just three by the clock on 
the xvall — and the four Staff Officers come in) 

D'Argoulles 
(Walks to the couch and calls) General! {The 
General stirs) It is three o'clock! 

General 
{Sits up and rubs his eyes, points to the desk) 
The map! that map! (D'Argoulles hands it to 
him as he rises. He looks at it in great surprise for 
a moment. The quiet, nonchalant manner adopted 
in his earlier scene with his Officers now gives way to 
brusqueness) Rameaux, take these orders. (Ra- 
meaux sits at desk and writes) " Half of my mass 
of maneuver — Fourth Corps, 61st and 62d Reserve 
Divisions — will proceed to Paris at once and march 
out to reinforce the Sixth Army, which will be in 
action when they arrive. The Sixth Army under 
Manoury, with the mobile garrison of Paris, will 
eave the city immediately, move North to-day, and 

[61] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

attack von Kluck at dawn to-morrow, driving him 
back upon the Ourcq. The attack must be delivered 
at dawn, in twenty-four hours ; I will tolerate no ex- 
cuses, no delay." Put those brders on the wire in- 
stantly. 

(All four Officers are astounded and dis- 
mayed) 

Rameaux 
(Rises with the sheet of paper in his hand) But, 
General — 

Chief 
You cannot attack von Kluck, now ! 

BONNEL 

You are trying to save Paris? 

GENERAIi 

Not a shell shall touch the city ! 

Director 
You propose to attack by forced marches, with 
a few beaten brigades, a great army, flushed with 
victory, backed by heavy guns? 

Rameaux 
General, this is madness, ruin ! 

General 
Put those orders on the wire ! 
[62] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 
At least explain this amazing plan ! 

GENERAIi 

As you well said three hours ago, there is no time 
to lose. 

(Pomts to the door, D'Argoulles opens 
it; Rameaux reluctantly goes out, D'Ar- 
GOULLEs shuts the door. There is a moment 
of silence) 

Director 
(Bitterly, to the Chief of Staff) I hope you 
are satisfied. General. You have got your offensive ! 

' Chief 
My offensive ! I wanted to stop behind the Seine, 
to reorganize, rest, before attacking! 

General 
(With his eyes on the map) The orders for the 
other armies! Will you take them, Bonnel? 

BONNEL 

General, will you not discuss your plan.f^ 

Director 
You fling a few disorganized divisions without 
guns into the enemy's mouth! 

[63] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 
Even the reserves cannot get up in time — you 
said the Sixth army would be in action when they 
arrived. 

Director 
In action ! In German prison pens ! You send 
us piece-meal to be gobbled up I 



BONNEL I 



( Weeping) I, too, General, beg you to recon- 
sider. 

General 

(Who has listened patiently, puts down the map; 
with a laugh to Bonnel) Et tu, Brute? 

Chief 
Do you refuse to listen to us ? 

General 
Of course not. I'm sorry that I was rude, but 
the orders for the Sixth army were instant. I could 
not discuss them. The Sixth army moves first. I 
will dictate the other orders in five minutes. That 
time is at your disposal. 

Director 
Five minutes, to decide the fate of France ! 
[6*] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 
(Somewhat vaguely) I think the fate of France 
has been decided. 

(The General, sits at the desk and lights a 
cigar. His poise and confidence as this scene 
progresses begin to impress the others, with- 
out converting them) 

Director 
Such a proposal as this was never heard of in 
military history. 

Generai. 
Then it is probable, Director, that the move will 
surprise the enemy no less than it has surprised my 
staff. 

(Rameatjx re-enters) 

Chief 
To bring the Sixth army out from Paris to-day 
and organize for attack in twenty-four hours is im- 
possible. 

General 
That word is not French! 

BoNNEIi 

(To Rameaux) That's what the Emperor used 
to tell his staff I 

[65] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Director 
There is not enough military transport in the city 
to move five divisions twenty-five miles in a day. 

General. 
There are eight thousand taxicabs. 

BONNEL 

That's true. 

Rameaux 
Von Kluck's army is victorious — it has not been 
disorganized by defeat and flight — it contains nine 
divisions. You propose to throw against it five 
beaten divisions. 

General. 
The units of the Sixth army have not been badly 
hammered, like our other troops. 

Chief 
And the four other divisions you order up from the 
strategic reserve to support the attack cannot go in 
until the third day. 

General. 
The second day. 

Rameaux 
They cannot — 
[66] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 
(Decisively) They must! 

Director 
Assume the impossible. Assume that the Sixth 
army to-morrow, tired, without guns, defeats von 
Kluck's present force. Still your plan is fatal ! 

GENERAIi 

I am listening. 

Director 
Because we cannot send help from our center 
armies. They have gone back too far. And von 
Kluck can bring reserves from his left, from Bue- 
low's army, even from Hansen's, to defeat our at- 
tacking force. 

General 
Exactly. That is all I ask him to do. 

Chief 
I don't understand that remark. But I agree with 
the Director that in these circumstances the forces 
you propose to use cannot defeat von Kluck by a 
frontal attack. 

General 
(Rather vaguely) I did not use the adjective. 

[67] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 
What do you mean? 

General 
(Blowing rings from his cigar) You have not 
foreseen all the circumstances. 

Director 
I think, gentlemen, we all desire to impress on the 
General our belief that this attack cannot possibly, 
in any circumstances, defeat von Kluck. 

(They all nod, Bonnel doubtfully, the oth- 
ers vigorously) 

General 
I incline to agree. I do not expect it to defeat 
von Kluck. 

(They are bervildered) 

Rameaux 
You order an attack which you admit will fail.'^ 

General 
(Looking at clock) When you permit me to com- 
plete dictating my orders, our plan of battle will be- 
come more clear. 

Director 
If von Kluck wins — and you admit he will — not 
only is Paris lost, but our left flank is routed I 
[68] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

GsNERAIi 

I promised you five minutes. Two yet remain. 

BoNNEIi 

Go on, General, please. 

(The others are silent) 

General 
(Decisively again) Very well. Rameaux, take 
these orders. (He dictates from the map) " All 
the armies of the left and center except the Sixth will 
halt where they are. They will spend to-day in re- 
forming and reorganizing. They will attack the 
enemy at dawn to-morrow." 

Chief 
A general offensive ! 

Generai* 
(Continuing) " The British army will re-cross 
the Marne and drive in between von Kluck and von 
Buelow." 

Director 
But von Kluck is already across the Marne ! The 
British cannot re-cross without a battle ! 

General 
" The Fifth army will fall upon von Buelow. On 
our right, Castelnau's Second army will continue to 

[69] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

stand firm before Nancy, and Sarrail's Third army 
covering Verdun will attack the Crown Prince. In 
the center — in the center" — (His voice rises) 
" between the Fifth and Third armies, General Foch, 
with the Ninth army, will attack weakly on the first 
day, just holding von Buelow's left and von Hansen's 
Saxons. On the second day he will retreat three 
miles, holding the Southern exits to the marshes of 
St. Gond. The enemy will pursue, hoping to break 
our center. Foch will retire again on the third day, 
back to where the second half of the mass of ma- 
neuver — 

Rameaux 

( Writing) — Eleventh corps, Forty-Second di- 
vision — 

Generai. 

— will be waiting for him. During the three days, 
the German reserves will have been drawn to their 
left, to meet the flanking attack from Paris. When 
the dispatch of reserves to von Kluck and the salient 
produced by the German pursuit of the Ninth army 
has weakened the enemy center, Foch will turn and 
throw in his fresh troops, the mass of maneuver, kept 
in reserve until the battle is ripe — until the battle 
is ripe — 

Chief 

(To Director) Napoleon's phrase again! 
[70] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

General 
— upon the junction between the Prussian Guard 
and the Saxons, rupturing the German line and 
throwing back the Guard into the Marshes of St. 
Gond." (He rises and drops the map and repeats as 
in a trance) The Marshes of St. Gond! The same 
old place ! 

BONNEI. 

(In awe) Eighteen fourteen again ! 

(They are all much impressed) 

GENERAIi 

(Who has seemed bewildered^ as though trying to 
remember something, recovers himself and resumes 
dictation) " The enemy will then be forced to re- 
treat instantly all along the line, even if he is winning 
before Paris. When this occurs all our armies will 
press the pursuit." 

BoNNEIi 

Then whether the Sixth army defeats von Kluck 
does not matter? 

General 
Not if it keeps him busy for three days. 

Chief 
I believe this plan must bring disaster. 

[71] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 
Here are three reasons why your plan must fail. 
First, the morale — 

General 
(Rises) Gentlemen, you all disapprove my plan. 
You oppose my battle orders. Very good. I over- 
rule your objections. My decision is made. It is 
irrevocable. The new plan will be put into execution 
immediately. You will all get to work at once, and, 
above all, impress on the field commanders that time 
is everything. Delay or faltering will not be par- 
doned. 

(They look at one another) 

Director 
There seems nothing more to be said. 

(They all salute. The General returns 
the salute) 

Rameaux 
I have made my protest. You may count on me to 
do my utmost. 

General 
Of course, Rameaux, I know that. 

Chief 
Your plan is now ours. I forget every objection, 
every doubt. 
[72] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MABNE 

DiRECTOlt. 

I am your subordinate, no longer your adviser. I 
will execute the orders. 

(Takes the sheet of paper from Rameaux) 

BoNNEIi 

It is the first time I have ever doubted you, Gen- 
eral. But your head is worth ten like mine. 

(The four Officers go out, all much de- 
pressed. D'Argoulles closes the door after 
them) 

D'Argoulles 
Did you get much sleep, sir? 

General 
I am a new man. But didn't I tell you to go to 
bed and not get up until I sent for you? 

D'Argoulles 
(Abashed) I must apologize for intruding. I 
heard you. I thought you might want something. 

General 
Intruding? What do you mean? 

D'Argoulles 

I mean when I came in here, and you shouted at 
me. 

[73] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Generai. 
You came in here? 

D'Argoulles 
Yes, twice, sir. 

General 
When? 

D'Argoulles 
After you went to sleep. Don't you remember 
calling out at me? 

GENERAIi 

What are you talking about? 

D'Argoulles 
{Surprised) You must have been asleep all the 
time [ 

General. 
Have you gone mad, Gaston? 

D'Argoulles 
You were walking in your sleep, sir. I thought 
I woke you and that you recognized me. But I see 
now — you were still asleep when you called. 

General 
You found me sleep-walking in here? 
[74] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

D'Argoulles 
Yes, sir. 

General 
That's very odd. I've never done that, boy. 
What was I doing? 

D'Argoulles 
I was in the passage, about half past one. 

GENERAIi 

(Shaking Ms finger) You didn't go to bed at all, 
then! 

D'Argoulues 

I heard footsteps, so I came in here. It was dark. 
You were stumbling about. I saw you were sleep- 
walking. I wondered whether to wake you. I was 
afraid you might hurt yourself. But when I came 
towards you you called out. 

GENERAIi 

What did I say? 

D'Argoulles 
" Who's there ? " you said, and I thought I had 
wakened you. I said, " It's only I, sir," and went 
out. 

GENERAIi 

(Vaguely) It's very strange. (Putting hand to 

[75] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

head) There was some queer dream I had. You 
came in twice, you said? 

D'Argoulues 
The second time you weren't here. 

General 
(Startled) Not here! Of course I was here. 

D'Aegoulles 
No, sir. 

GENERAIi 

Nonsense. It was dark. You didn't see me on 
the couch. 

D'Argouli^s 
Oh, no, sir. Rameaux struck a light. 

GENERAIi 

What's that? 

D'Argoulles 
The staff wanted to wake you. They had some 
news. There was some talk by the door. Then Ra- 
meaux lit a match. 

General 
Well? 
[76] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

D'Argouli-es 
You weren't on the couch. You were in the 
study. 

General 
(Incredulous) The study ! 

D'Argoulles 
The door was shut. 

General 
It's open, now ! 

D'Argoulues 
Bonnel persuaded the others not to call you. We 
went out, came back at three and found you asleep. 

General 
Well, I'll be damned ! I'm no somnambulist ! The 
study! (Goes and looks through the door^ returns 
to desk) When I woke up just now (pointing), I 
asked you for that map. 

D'Argoulles 
Yes, sir. 

General 
I knew I had made up my mind. I was ready to 
dictate the orders. But I found, on the map, I had 
marked it all down. It's very odd, Gaston, but I 
don't remember doing that I 

[77] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

D'Argoulles 
Perhaps you did it in your sleep. (The General 
muses) It's wonderful, your plan, if I may say so, 
sir. 

GENERAIi 

So you took it all in, eh, you rascal? 

D'ARGOULIiES 

(Enthusiastically/) The attack on the flank, the 
retreat in the center, and then the decisive blow on 
the third day ! 

Geneeal 
I'm glad you like it, boy. The others don't. 
They don't think the Sixth army can hold up von 
Kluck long enough. . . . And he must be stopped 
for three days, so the center attack can come off. 

D'Argoulues 
Of course they'll hold him, sir. 

GsNERAIi 

Yes, I feel that. They will. But how? That's 
what stumps me. All that the others said is sound, 
Gaston. I could not answer them. But they are 
wrong. Somehow, I know they're wrong. I don't 
know why. 

D' Argouli.es 

How did it come to you, your plan.?* 
[78] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

GeNERAI/ 

(After a pause) How did It come? Do we ever 
know how these things come? 

D'Argoulles 
You said before you went to sleep you knew it 
would. 

Generai. 
We rack our brains for days and nights over some 
problem that is too much for us, we think until we 
can think no longer, and then — the ansv/er comes ! 
Where does it come from, Gaston? Tell me that! 

D'Argoulles 
You asked me to-night how to beat the Germans. 
Now you ask me something harder — to explain the 
miracle of Inspiration. 

General 
Inspiration ! I suppose that's what it was. I had 
worked out something quite different. It took me 
four days. I was wrong. God, how wrong I was ! 
It would have brought disaster, that plan. It was 
the best I could do. I was going to put it into ex- 
ecution. But something stopped me. Something 
told me to wait. The armies seemed falling to 
pieces, through my indecision. My staff doubted 
me, to-night they began to despise me. Still there 

[79] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

was something that wouldn't let me take the decision, 
the wrong decision. Then — this came. Not from 
within me. From something outside. Where did it 
come from.f^ 

D'Argoulles 
The artist knows that his masterpiece — his poem, 
his statue, or his plan of battle — doesn't come from 
his own brain. 

General. 
Where does it come from, then.^^ 

D'Argoulles 
In the old days, he thought some god or dead hero 
had inspired him. 

General 
(Laughing) Ghosts — visions — eh? You don't 
believe in that claptrap.'^ (D'Argoulles laughs) 
What's the answer, though? . . . It's very strange 
about that map. I wonder if I was asleep ! 

D'Argoulles 
What did you dream about, sir? 

General 
(Vaguely) Oh, the armies, of course. Some of 
the Emperor's old campaigns, I think, all jumbled up 
with this one. And maps, and plans, and the battles 
[80] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

last month. Well, we mustn't gossip here like old 

women I There's a campaign on, boy ! 

(As he turns to go out, Rameaux hursts in 
followed hy the Chief of Staff, the Direc- 
tor and BoNNEL, all in joyous excitement.) 

Rameaux 
General, your plan! An inspiration! You've 
got them !' 

General 
What's the matter? 

Director 
A masterpiece of strategy! But how did you 
know? 

GENERAI4 
Know what, Director? 

Chief 
We all thought your plan brilliant. But there 
was one fatal objection. 

BoNNEIi 

We didn't think the Sixth army could hold von 
rouck three days so your blow in the center could 
come off. 

Generai- 
{Impatiently) Well ? 

[81] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 
Von Kluck has walked into your trap ! 

Director 
It was the very moment for the offensive! But 
how did you know? 

General 
You seem to have some surprising news about von 
Kluck. 

Chief 
He has turned aside from Paris ! 

Rameaux 
To the South-east ! He is marching with his right 
flank exposed to the attack you ordered ! 

General. 
(Bewildered and astonished) His flank? His 
flank? He presents me his flank? But is this pos- 
sible ? Why should he do that ? How do you know ? 

BONNEL 

From three separate sources, sir, all reliablp, all 
independent, all in agreement. 

GENERAIf 

You are sure there is no mistake? 
[82] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Chief 
No, sir. All von Kluck's troops are marching 
across our front. 

General 
(Struggles to remember, but cannot; the others 
are surprised at his attitude) His flank, of course. 
His flank! . . . Why am I so surprised? 

BoNNEIi 

You are not well, sir. The strain has been too 
much. 

Director 
You didn't know.? Is this an accident.^ 

Rameaux 
(To Chief) He didn't know! It's all luck. 

General 
I knew about their flank march! Why am I so 
surprised? My whole plan was based on that! . . • 
My whole plan! 

Director 
How did you know von Kluck would make that 
move ? 

General 
(Bewildered) How did I know? How did I 

[83] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

know? Never mind that now. Go on. Tell me 
more. 

Chief 
Your plan is feasible, now. 

Rameaux 
The English can recross the Mame, as you said, 
for when we attack to-morrow von Kluck must recall 
his advanced troops over the river, and form front to 
flank. 

General 
(Repeats vaguely) Of course. Form front to 
flank! 

Director 
It was the frontal attack on von Kluck that we 
thought madness. 

BoNNEIi 

You said you hadn't used that adjective ! 

General 
(Vaguely) Why, yes. So I did! 

Rameaux 
(Who has picked up the map from the desk) 
What damned fools we've all been ! 

Chief 
What's the matter.'^ 
[84] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 
He knew it all along! Look here! (They crowd 
around the map, the General with the others) He 
has marked von Kluck's flank march across our front 
on this map! 

BONNEL 

He had marked the map when we came in and woke 
him! 

Director 
Of course he had ! He dictated his orders from it ! 

General 
(Still somewhat dazed, takes the map) Why, so 
I did! (Triumphantly) I see it now! Of course, 
I thought of that! 

Director 
But how did you know? 

General 
He had to make that flank march. He was drift- 
ing apart from Buelow's army. He had to close the 
gap. It would have opened by morning. This 
march to the South-east across our flank was forced 
on him. He had to do it to keep in touch with 
Buelow. I worked it out. I don't remember when. 
But I knew he'd do it ! My whole plan was based on 
bhat! 

(They are all overwhelmed) 

[85] 



THE GENIUS OF THE MARNE 

Rameaux 
Will you let me read that Vie Parisienne? 

General 
{Laughmg) Come, let's all get to work. The 
campaign is proceeding — according to plan ! 

Rameaux 
And what a plan ! A plan worthy of Napoleon 
himself ! 

General 
(^Halting near the door) We owe everything we 
know of war to the Great Captain, comrades. Vive 
VEmperewr! 

{They echo the cry " Vive VEmpereur " as 
they go out) 

CURTAIN 



[86] 



WIS 



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